


A Short Rest in Shangri-Spa

by MrsLuigiVargas



Series: PMTOK In-Betweens [3]
Category: Mario Story | Paper Mario, Paper Mario: The Origami King, Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, Slight Green Streamer Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:14:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26073994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsLuigiVargas/pseuds/MrsLuigiVargas
Summary: Kamek was sitting on a bench.(Slight Spoilers for Chapter 5/Green Streamer)
Relationships: Mario (Nintendo) & Kamek | Magikoopa
Series: PMTOK In-Betweens [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1870738
Comments: 8
Kudos: 44





	A Short Rest in Shangri-Spa

Kamek was sitting on a bench. 

Despite the urgency of Bowser Junior’s current condition, the need to get inside the castle, and the looming presence of the green streamer, Mario had insisted on taking a short break before venturing out to the last hot spring. Olivia had quickly agreed, citing the need to be fully prepared for another amazing hot spring experience. Bowser Junior didn't have any objections to delaying a fourth bath. 

So here he was.

Bowser Junior had wandered away, intent on needling some nearby minions who had escaped the worst of the Shangri-Spa Toads’ supervision. Olivia, still in a mid-spa day haze, had followed him. They seemed to be getting along, but that did little to ease Kamek’s worries. What sort of trouble was Bowser Junior inevitably going to get into this time? The wizard had no way of predicting such a thing because he was too far away to hear what they were saying. As much as he would like to stay on this bench and never move again, he really shouldn’t let the children run amok around the grounds. He could have at least gotten Mario to manage his own, but the plumber up and vanished not long after they decided to rest, leaving Kamek as the only adult in the group, which was. Great. And Olivia seemed like a nice girl, but she probably wouldn't be able to do much to curb Bowser Junior’s more ill-mannered tendencies...Kamek frowned. It was too much to hope for some actual time off, he supposed.

But before he could drag himself off the bench, he spotted Mario striding towards him, a spring in his step and two cups in his hands.

“Oh, is that one of their weird lattes?” Kamek asked as he approached.

Mario nodded, holding one of the drinks out towards Kamek.

"Is...is that for me?"

Mario nodded again.

"Well...I suppose it will do, in a pinch. Is there extra espresso, at least?”

Mario blinked, then smiled sheepishly.

Kamek sighed. “Nevermind.” He snatched the cup from Mario’s hand. “It would have been terrible for my blood pressure anyway.”

“I’m surprised that they let you take their dishes out of the building,” Kamek continued, as Mario settled next to him. “What did you say to them to let you do that? I asked about it the other day but they just got upset with me. As if I wasn't almost single-handedly making their campus look presentable, as their number one groundskeeper.” He scoffed. “Do you know what one of them said to me the other day? It was impressively awful, for a Toad...”

Curiously, Kamek found that once he started venting to Mario, it was quite hard to stop. Then again, this was just about the first chance he had to outwardly complain in some time. Kamek was usually quite skilled in internalizing his woes and struggles until the day he died, but it had been an especially stressful few hours, so he could probably be forgiven if his restraint slipped somewhat. 

"...and if _that_ wasn't awful enough,” he fumed, motioning to where his rake rested against the bench, “for some asinine reason these supercilious idiots had decided to invest in some of the lowest-quality equipment I've ever seen! As if lawn care wasn't tedious enough without these shoddy excuses for tools falling apart halfway through the stinking-!" Kamek abruptly slammed the rest of his near-cold drink in one go, cutting himself off. He glowered at the last dregs floating at the bottom of the cup. “Ugh,” he grumbled. “The Toads here never add enough caffeine to these drinks.” 

Mario, who had long since set his empty cup aside, hummed in agreement.

The noise seemed to startle Kamek, who looked over and did a double-take at Mario's attentive stare. “Wait, you-you’re still listening to me?” he asked, incredulous. Mario’s answering smile said yes, he definitely was. Kamek blinked. “Oh.” Everyone else would have assuredly told him to shut up by now...he fiddled with his glasses. “Of course you are. That’s good. I say incredibly important things, after all." He paused. "But...you’re probably a good listener to anyone you talk to. Practically a requirement for being a hero, I’m sure.” He looked away, tightening his grip on his cup. “Though at least _someone_ is willing to listen to me for a change...” 

Although Kamek said that last part under his breath, Mario managed to catch it anyway. He frowned, watching Kamek’s tensed shoulders with a look of concern.

Sensing Mario's gaze, Kamek glanced back. "What," he asked warily. "Do I have something on my face?"

Mario continued to stare at Kamek. Then, as if he came up with the world's most brilliant idea, he smiled and held his arms out expectantly.

Kamek stared in confusion. “What are you...?” 

Mario leaned in closer, insistently waving his arms.

Brow furrowed, Kamek wracked his brain trying to figure out what Mario wanted. It took a few moments, but realization soon bloomed across his face, swiftly followed by the brightest shade of red Mario had ever seen. 

"Wh-Absolutely not!” Kamek almost shrieked, before remembering that he was sitting on a bench outside in public. “That-That's _ridiculous_!" he hissed, flustered. “I-I don't need... _that_ from...from the likes of _you_!”

Amused by Kamek’s blustering, Mario leaned in closer, wiggling his fingers mischievously.

"Wha-! I-! You-!” Kamek jerked away, knocking his rake to the ground. “Of all the-! Ugh!” He turned away from Mario with a scowl.

With an exaggerated sigh, Mario gave up on his endeavor and settled back down on the bench. He spent a while watching Olivia strike a conversation with some nearby Shy Guys. Soon, Mario heard shuffling from beside him. Curious, he chanced a glance at Kamek to see him muttering something under his breath. He quickly looked away before Kamek caught him peeking. _Bowser Junior seems to be tolerating watching the conversation between Olivia and the other minions, but he certainly looks restless, doesn't he?_ Mario thought, continuing to ignore Kamek’s sleeve edging closer and closer into his field of view. Finally, after an excruciating pause, a weight slowly came to rest against Mario’s side. As Mario instinctively shifted to accommodate it, Kamek stiffened but otherwise didn't move. 

Kamek took a deep breath. “Don't. Say. A single. _Word_ ,” he growled through clenched teeth. Mario huffed a laugh. 

So Mario and Kamek sat in awkward-yet-kind-of-amicable silence. Just as Mario was getting used to the fact that he was currently nestled against one of his archenemies, he felt Kamek slump further; Mario looked down and found that somehow, despite literally _just_ finishing off a latte, Kamek was half-dozing on his shoulder. His glasses were slightly askew on his face. Mario bit back a grin.

Mario spent more time than he cared to admit watching Kamek sleep. His attention was eventually pulled away towards distant yelling; one of the Shangri-spa Toads seemed to have finally noticed their workers slacking off, and he and Bowser Junior seemed to be arguing about something. Mario was beginning to wonder if he should wake Kamek up so they could step in when Bowser Junior flipping a lounge chair made that decision for him.

Kamek sprung awake, Mario’s reflexes barely keeping the wizard from pitching head-over-heels off the bench. "What the heck is going on...?” Kamek tugged his sleeve out of Mario’s grip as he squinted across the grass. As the situation registered to his sleep-addled brain, a look of horror overtook Kamek's face. “Young Master, _what_ are you **_doing_**?!” he screeched, scrambling to his feet.

At the same time, Olivia was hurrying towards them, panicked. "Mario!! Kamek! They're fighting!! Why are they fighting?!"

"Oh no, oh no..." Kamek began running towards the commotion. Before he got very far though, he whirled around to glare at Mario.

"Just so you know: That?” He jerked his arm towards the bench. “ _Never_. Happened. And if you _ever_ speak of this again you’ll know pain beyond your wildest imaginings-" Another crash echoed through the campus. Kamek swore and hurried away.

Olivia tipped her head to the side. "I've never heard that word before...Mario? What's a-mmpf!"

Mario rushed to cover her mouth, eyes wide. Olivia ducked away from his hands. “Oh, should I not say that?” She wilted at Mario’s head shake. “Oh, sorry! I didn't know! Anyway, should we go see if we can help Kamek?”

That sounded as good of an idea as any. Mario picked Kamek's rake up from where it lay on the ground and led Olivia back to the scene. Hopefully, there was something they could do to help.

("What was up with Kamek before?" Olivia asked later, while they were making preparations to storm Peach's Castle. "What were you guys doing? Was it fun?"

Mario stared off in thought for a brief moment; Olivia swore she could see a soft smile grow under his mustache. He nodded, and then, annoyingly, refused to give her any more details.)

**Author's Note:**

> I would like the judge and jury to know that I would not hesitate to wrap the universe up with a bow and give it to Kamek on a silver platter if he asked me to. No, I don't have any idea why, thanks for asking.


End file.
